About

Hello!

I'm Julia M. Usher, founder of Cookie Connection: A place to learn, share, and celebrate the art of cookie decorating! I'm so glad you're here!

Before you dive into the site, I wanted to tell you a little more about who we are and how we came about, as well as share some important housekeeping rules. Please read this entire post (and re-read our Terms of Use) before making your first post. You can also listen to the CliffsNotes' version, left!

Who We Are

First and foremost, Cookie Connection is a friendly community designed to showcase the best in all of us. Cookiers of all skill levels are welcome - no minimum experience or participation is required, though you must be 13 years of age or older. Please show up as often as you'd like to spread the love of cookie decorating. Non-cookiers are also invited to join and browse the wealth of cookier-talent eager to fulfill orders for holidays and special events!

Whereas some groups welcome posts of a personal nature, this site is intended to be strictly about the art of cookie decorating and related topics, such as sweets decorating and baking. Please post the pictures of your child's birthday party, woes about your inlaws or aching back, political debates, and other sundries to Facebook!

What You'll Find

I've designed this site, with the help of Hoop.la (the site host), to maximize learning and connections. It's got spots for members to swap photos, share tutorials, post events, ask questions, and even participate in live cookie chats! From time to time, my editorial team and I will also feature members' photographs and tutorials, pose challenges, and run contests. So in addition to being educational, this site should be lots of fun!

How We Came About

With so many different groups and blogs each offering its own take on cookie decorating, I was spending my days bouncing all over the Internet to keep up with the crazy innovation happening in cookie space. Phew - it was exhausting, and I barely had time left to cookie decorate! Then the metaphorical light bulb turned on over my head! (OK, OK, I actually got a strong nudge from a good friend.)* Why not start a special space to concentrate our collective talent and knowledge in one place? We'd all learn so much more (a lot faster), our work would get greater visibility, and a world of new cookie friends was bound to follow. I could think of few projects any sweeter.

And so in Spring 2013, I pushed everything else to the back burner to focus on launching this site. Please consider it a work in process. Because I really, truly believe that mastery of basic techniques is what unleashes creative potential, you'll see that I've organized the forums, blogs, and clips on this site in a very technique-centric way. However, if you have other topics or categories you'd like to see, or feedback of any ilk, don't hesitate - just send your thoughts my way! This is YOUR group after all; I exist only to make it all that you, the cookier community, want and need it to be.

Please Play By The Rules

While Cookie Connection is a friendly place, it's important that you play by the rules to keep it that way. Again, please review our Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, and Posting FAQ before you get started. If you ever have any questions about what you can (and cannot) post on this site, and can't find your answer in any of these places, then email me.

*Special Thanks

Make no mistake, none of this would have happened without the urging of Jaci Baynes Harper, aka Ali's Sweet Tooth and goddess of blinged-out cookies. (Think lots of luster dust!) Also, thank you to Elizabeth Watt of Pretty Sweet Designs for the many hours she put into the lovely graphic design to launch this site right! And, last but not least, thanks to the cadre of cookie people who jumped on the site early to help work out the kinks: Liz Adams (Arty McGoo), Glory Albin (Glorious Treats), Jaci Baynes Harper (Ali's Sweet Tooth), Penny Knapik (Lucky Penny), Marian Poirier (Sweetopia), Michele Shoup (Bakeskool), Kip Simpson and the BRP team, Pam Sneed (CookieCrazie), Amber Spiegel (SweetAmbs), Mike and Karen Summers (Karen's Cookies), and Elizabeth Watt (Pretty Sweet Designs).